Gender, Politics, and Education Policy

The United States (U.S.) has long been conflicted about race and gender (Nelson, 1998). There are fundamentally two theories of gender acquisition: One that asserts the distinctions between men and women are determined by biology and the other that contends differences are socially constructed (Hughes et al., 1988; Kuumba, 2001; Lorber, 1998). The 2024 U.S. presidential election again amplified the national struggle with gender and race. This article considers the American history of gender and race on recent political outcome and offers perspectives for influencing and sustaining education policy. Specifically, although women have higher rates of voter registration and voter turnout (CAWP, 2024), they are constrained by their intersectional identity of gender and race and their socio-history within patriarchy and white supremacy (Kim & Junn, 2024). Meaning, white women voted to maintain a sexist, racist U.S. society. Therefore, national policies should encourage families and schools to deliberately teach notions of gender acquisition to youth and expose them to others who are different from themselves. Further, policymakers should advance policies that eradicate oppression and engenders an egalitarian society.